Ugly Betty News

32 opinions for Val Emmich Joins Ugly Betty as Recurring Character

• Sarah (stuley23)
  Jul 11, 2008 at 9:43 am

  Why is it always assumed by magazines that when a cute guy casting pops up it’s always a “potential love interest” for Betty? There’s no possiblity that since this casting is for only a few episodes that it could be for Lohan’s Kimmy character? That would make more sense to me. Especially after the Ugly Betty “Who will she choose?” promo that aired after last night’s repeat episode.

• Tom
  Jul 11, 2008 at 10:13 am

  Sarah, you may be right, but HR has been an extremely reliable source in the past. We’ll see.

  I’d much rather see him paired with Kimberly, though.

• karen
  Jul 11, 2008 at 1:35 pm

  Tom, you said: “There’s also this (and this is where I get into trouble, I’m afraid). If the premise of the show is that Betty is not-so-beautiful, and is trying to fit in where everyone IS beautiful, isn’t it quite a stretch that every man she runs into wants to be her boyfriend?”

  I couldn’t agree more! I said this when all of a sudden Gio was hot for Betty, and I felt “What?” he is kinda portrayed as a bit of a player, but yet he “eyes” Betty?? Didn’t fall right for me and the way we know how the real world works. Who knows with this new Jesse, we will have to wait.

• Beatrice B
  Jul 11, 2008 at 1:48 pm

  Man! that guy is cute! Oh well, my guess is that he´s just one of the many famous guest appearances that will be featured next season. If I am not mistaken, in the casting call they made public last month they were looking for an actor to play “jesse” for episodes 3.01 and 3.02 episodes. I am not sure he´s a “love interest” if he´s just going to show up in two episodes… but I like his singing.

  OMG! Season 3 is going to be packed of handsome gorgeous characters: Daniel, Gio, Tony and now, Jesse. Betty is a lucky girls and us viewers. *uff* can´t wait!!

• Eric
  Jul 11, 2008 at 3:03 pm

  Just because Betty is interested doesn’t mean he has to be interested back.

• Bennu
  Jul 11, 2008 at 5:02 pm

  I have to take a moment to disagree about the “Betty is ugly so she shouldn’t have so many admirers” POV. I actually think it’s really cool that Betty garners so much genuine interest. It’s not like these are random guys who catcall her on the street; they’re men who get to know her and then fall head over heels. In fact, I think it says a lot that Betty has real options in the relationship department while her gorgeous-wealthy-amazing boss can’t seem to keep a woman in his life for any substantial length of time.

  Maybe it’s just me, but I think I’d be annoyed if Betty spent most of the series without any real romantic options. She’s an awesome girl, and these guys who get to know her realize that pretty quickly.

  She basically has a new love interest every season; there seems to be a pattern here.

• Niobe
  Jul 11, 2008 at 5:06 pm

  This seems like a weird move on the part of the writers…add in yet ANOTHER love interest? I guess I won’t read too much into it yet, but dang! Betty is starting to make me jealous!! :->

• Bennu
  Jul 11, 2008 at 6:54 pm

  Oh, and re: what to call the ship…

  How about Jetty? Or Bessy? ;-)

• Lindsey
  Jul 11, 2008 at 7:08 pm

  Oh, pfft, it is NOT such a stretch.

  When Betty was new to Mode, Walter whined about her fancy job “changing” her. Henry’s initial response was “You work on the 28th floor?!” Gio took note of the fact that Betty is the only female at Mode with normal eating habits. Even very attractive men can get tired of pretty girls who don’t think or eat very often. Betty is approachable and fairly low-maintenance.

  (Of course, I might be a bit biased here, since I’m not conventionally attractive and have received several marriage proposals.)

• Niobe
  Jul 11, 2008 at 7:21 pm

  I guess I didn’t see it as that much of a stretch either. I of course have only seen bits and piece of some of the international versions where she seems to very ugly in general, but I always thought the American version’s “Ugly Betty” really was more about what her place of employment felt about her and less about what everyone else does.

  Mode people are obsessed with weight, makeup, clothes, hair and jewelry and put that above everything else. I don’t consider good looking guys like, Henry, Gio and maybe even this new guy Jesse to be Mode people, so I don’t think it’s so bizarre they would be attracted to her.

• Jwmfan
  Jul 11, 2008 at 9:35 pm

  I must admit when I read this my heart sunk. I am not happy with this at all. I just don’t want Gio to fall off the face of the earth. They put so muh time and energy into making me fall in love with Gio that I will be devestated if they don’t follow up on the whole Betty/Gio situation and bring Freddy back.

  With that said however, I do like the fact that Betty is getting male attention. And one of the previous posters is right, they wait until they get to know Betty and then fall head over heels. It’s nice to think that’s possible in the real world.

  Everyone always puts so much emphasis on looks that it seems hard for anyone to believe that someone could fall in love with a person who is not particularly attractive. I mean, admit it. You see a cute guy with an average or below average looking girl or visa versa and your first thought is “What is he/she doing with her/him?” And as much as I hate that and as much as I’d like to think I’m above it, I’m guilty of it too. That is just how the world is. I am just glad that there is a TV show out there that is trying to make people think of such things in a totally different perspective.

• OMG-UGLYBETTY
  Jul 12, 2008 at 11:26 am

  Jwmfan said:
  “I must admit when I read this my heart sunk. I am not happy with this at all. I just don’t want Gio to fall off the face of the earth. They put so muh time and energy into making me fall in love with Gio that I will be devestated if they don’t follow up on the whole Betty/Gio situation and bring Freddy back.”

  Now y’all finally understand how us Benry shippers feel with Henry!! Maybe you’ll be slightly more sympathetic now that your guy is in danger!

  And I’m just hoping that Jesse ha enough time to be a potential love interest. If they show him for 1 episode and then are all “Oooh, he likes Betty!” that wouldn’t be realistic. And since he’s only going to be on for a few episodes… (of course, that’s how Henry started)… then it would be jumping the shark to have him as a love interest.

• Beatrice B
  Jul 12, 2008 at 6:09 pm

  I´m still not that concerned about those news. I cant wait to see what this Jesse guy has to offer to the show. I don´t think a “love interest” will develop in just “a few” episodes.

  And well.

  OMG-UGLYBETTY said: “Now y’all finally understand how us Benry shippers feel with Henry!! Maybe you’ll be slightly more sympathetic now that your guy is in danger!”

  Wait a minute!!! The Getties are like one of the ONLY ships that have been through hardships ever since Gio was introduced. Our man (Gio) was in thread of extinction at least twice in the middle of season 2 (and it didn´t help the mountain of Benries badmouthing us all over the boards…). Up until we found out Freddy Rodriguez had signed for a total of 12 episodes we´ve been fearing the worse. Actually all that has given us strength. We´ve faced things like this before so I don´t believe in anything until we have more reliable information or (as it had happened before) until we got to see the actual episodes.

  Besides, when haven´t we been sympathetic with all the other UB fans? My feelings are hurt with your words. :)

• Jace
  Jul 12, 2008 at 9:47 pm

  OMG-UGLYBETTY said:
  “Now y’all finally understand how us Benry shippers feel with Henry!! Maybe you’ll be slightly more sympathetic now that your guy is in danger!”
  ***********************

  Well, I can’t say it’s the same. Personally, I think the difference here is that the writers did a pretty good job of taking their time and writing the H/B story in such a way that it had a proper beginning and an end. To me, the “demise” of Henry was sufficient in how the writers wrote it. His new baby came, and that meant a new life for him that no longer involved Betty. That made plenty of sense, and therefore, I was expecting for him to leave eventually.

  However, the difference with Gio is that his time on the show is being rushed. It will be interesting to see how the writers wrap things up for him with at least one episode.

  So, frankly, I feel that the Getty fans have more to feel bad about than the Hetty fans. Frankly, the Hetty fans had plenty of time in the sun, starting with Season One. Considering everything that happened in Season Two, they should’ve expected that Henry was never meant to stick around in the long run. As for Gio, I never thought that he was meant to stick around as a long-time regular either, but based on events from the season two finale, I did expect to see more of him this coming season.

  In any case, I’m not bothered by this Jesse character coming in. In fact, I’m already intrigued. Betty and a musician? Well, well. That’s certainly an interesting step up from the accountant and the sandwich guy! ;-) I’m sure Val’s fans will be tuning in for this, as well.

• Tom
  Jul 12, 2008 at 9:51 pm

  Hoo boy. NONE of y’all are going to be happy with my post tomorrow. Just a fair warning.

  If you can’t wait till then:

  Hollywood Reporter

  Sorry.

• Jace
  Jul 12, 2008 at 10:21 pm

  Thanks for the heads-up, Tom. Unfortunately, I think most of the fans already know, based on what I’m seeing all over the place (which is why I posted what I said above).

  I know people are p’oed - and I myself am surprised about Freddy - but to be honest? I was personally more affected by Santos dying than I am about this. (And BTW, a lot of fans that I knew were upset by his death and threatened to stop watching the show. Guess what, though - the show managed to carry on. So, I’m sure UB will carry on just fine without this “love triangle”.)

• Junamrsgrl
  Jul 13, 2008 at 12:17 am

  Jace, I think you hit the nail squarely on the head with your previous post. Us Getties really have gotten the short end of the stick, and now these rumors (and thats what I’m calling them until such is either confirmed by ABC, one of the actors, or the season airs) are threatening to make that stick even shorter. I realize that some of the Benries feel threatened by Gio, but I don’t understand their complaints…they got a full season and half of Betty and Henry, even if it didn’t work out like their fantasies. Because of the strike in Season 2, we only got 9 out of 12 intended episodes. During that time, we got a lot of Getty buildup, the equivalent of 2 kisses (if you’re being generous) and the implication that Gio had at least an equal shot, if not slightly better than Henry, of being ‘the Guy’ for Betty.
  If the few mean-spirited Benries want to take pot shots at us because they’re angry about Henry being written off the show, let them. As far as I can tell, the Getties are not the only shippers shocked by this premature information…it appears to be freaking out all 3 ships to an extent.

  In the end, if ABC makes the *horrible* choice of eliminating both Henry and Gio from the show, there’s not much I can do about it. I’ll mis Gio, and probably won’t ever forgive ABC for it. But I sure won’t be rubbing it in other people’s faces.

• Livia
  Jul 13, 2008 at 1:53 pm

  There were two main overarching storylines for Season 2 on UB: [1] The Meads battle to retain control of their publishing empire in the face of Willy’s scheming and Claire’s criminal charges and [2] the love rivalry between Henry and Betty with Henry’s baby mama problems pushing her towards a Gio’s whose wisecracking becomes increasingly unsuccessful at masking his devotion. If anything, the 2nd was the more important, since it was the more Betty-focused of the two. Benry’s shippers lost out on closure because they never got to see what happened between them after the birth night but before Henry left, which was unfair. Now after Gio makes the most incredibly romantic declaration of his feelings on TV in years (end of Episode 17), it appears that 2 shows later he’ll be gone and some new guy will come in. Jesse seems cute, but it’s well nigh impossible - whatever chemistry he can produce with Betty - that it can come close to the combination of romanticism, sexual excitement, wit and sheer energy that ignite the Getty pairing. The writers did too good a job of making Getty seem like soulmates for anyone else to believably follow that pairing.

• Cherie
  Jul 13, 2008 at 4:20 pm

  Oh no! No Henry or Gio?! =( It was soo sudden!

• OMG-UGLYBETTY
  Jul 13, 2008 at 8:21 pm

  Jeez, I wasn’t taking a “pot shot” at you guys. I was just hoping you’d show some sympathy, which I realize was too much to ask for considering your reactions to my post.

  I saw the Hollywood Reporter thing. And frankly, it’s just stupid. I’m hoping they’ll at least bring CG and FR back just to tie up some loose ends, if nothing else. They can’t just be like “Oh Henry left and so did Gio. And they’re not coming back. And Betty chose neither. Enjoy the show!”…. can they?

• angie
  Jul 13, 2008 at 9:54 pm

  From Livia - “The writers did too good a job of making Getty seem like soulmates for anyone else to believably follow that pairing.”

  Hmm…I don’t know about that. I enjoyed watching Gio and Betty very much, but I never got the impression that they were soulmates. Of course, they are on similar paths right now - in terms of reaching their personal goals - but I just had this feeling that he wasn’t the end of the line for Betty in terms of long-lasting love.

  And yeah, I agree with Jace. Logically, it never crossed my mind that Freddy would stick around forever. He’s a successful movie star, for pete’s sake! How he could he ever be a full-time regular on a TV show? No way could I see that happening in the long run. (Besides, I like watching him better on the big screen.)

  In any case, this news is not the end of the world. And come on - OF COURSE Val won’t be on forever. IMO, it’s not about being heavily invested in Betty’s romances with these minor characters. It’s more about seeing the bigger picture. Personally, I’m more interested in watching Betty navigate through all of these unique experiences (i.e., how these moments change her, how she grows, etc.).

• Sarah (stuley23)
  Jul 13, 2008 at 11:45 pm

  “He’s a successful movie star, for pete’s sake! How he could he ever be a full-time regular on a TV show? No way could I see that happening in the long run. (Besides, I like watching him better on the big screen.)”

  Umm…. Freddy Rodriguez *was* a regular cast member of a television show–HBO’s Six Feet Under. So many big screen stars are moving back to television that I don’t see this being a big roadblock to him joining the cast, should the opportunity present itself. What I do see as a roadblock is the way UB’s writing seemed to be going at the point of the finale–disjointed and slightly off. He might not like where the creators were planning to take his character and opted out rather than have his character go out like they had CG’s character.

  But honestly–I’m not going to put much stock in possible spoilers until I see it coming from UB creators/producers–which is really why I’ve been kinda stalking the photos of S3 filming more than anything else.

• Junamrsgrl
  Jul 14, 2008 at 12:11 am

  OMG-UGLYBETTY, I’m sorry if you’ve taken that statement personally; it was more directed at the group in general, and not meant to single out any one person. Being completely new to ’shipping’ and forums, I’ve encountered a few people from all sides. First impressions are lasting ones, no matter how judgmental we try to keep ourselves from being. I do sympathize with your plight- quite frankly I thought Henry was pretty cool until they started giving him all that baby mama drama and petty jealousy. I’m truly sorry that ABC stuck your guy with such a crap storyline. But the point still stands that at least Betty and Henry reached relationship status at some point after all the implications led us to believe they would. If Betty and Gio had gotten the season and a half of interaction that Betty and Henry have, I would still be annoyed about the way they were dismissing him from the show (if these rumors do indeed prove true), but it wouldn’t have surprised me that it was going to happen, and I wouldn’t complain about it because things weren’t going the way I wanted them to. I was generally voicing displeasure over the state of the show and the current rumor mill as regards Gio and Betty and did not mean to offend; I apologize since I seem to have. As far as what ABC can and will do, I’m trying to go into S3 as open-minded as I can be, having committed to a ship. I just hope that whatever direction they go with is viable in terms of the already established plotline, and that none of the characters receive an unfair ousting.

• bgfan
  Jul 14, 2008 at 12:33 am

  “He’s a successful movie star, for pete’s sake! How he could he ever be a full-time regular on a TV show?”

  George Clooney did it for 6 years. Besides this actor doesn’t seem the type to see TV as ‘beneath him’. And there’s nothing like a steady paycheck.

  “What I do see as a roadblock is the way UB’s writing seemed to be going at the point of the finale–disjointed and slightly off. He might not like where the creators were planning to take his character and opted out rather than have his character go out like they had CG’s character.”

  Thank you for saving me a whole lot of typing, stuley, this exactly what I’ve been thinking.

  Also, Horta’s trying to keep things under wraps to cash in on the premier (he must be thrilled with CG). Stands to reason even THR won’t have all or even the most accurate information. I too am waiting to hear something ‘official.’ Unfortunately, that too may just be PR spin.

• Michelle
  Jul 14, 2008 at 4:17 am

  I’m very shocked that both Chris and Freddy won’t be coming back and they’ve just decided to replace them with some random guy.

  Very disappointed.

• Ugly Betty ‘Ship’-wreck
  Jul 14, 2008 at 8:16 am

  [...] this might happen, but I’m still surprised and a little disappointed.  Let’s hope Val Emmich can create enough heat to fill the [...]

• Jace
  Jul 14, 2008 at 1:31 pm

  Sarah said: “Umm…. Freddy Rodriguez *was* a regular cast member of a television show–HBO’s Six Feet Under. So many big screen stars are moving back to television that I don’t see this being a big roadblock to him joining the cast, should the opportunity present itself.”

  ****************************
  True (in a way), but I think I know what angie was getting at. To me, Freddy’s career in movies really started to take off after he was done with “Six Feet Under”. Sure, he did a few movies while he was on that show, but his “visibility” on the big screen was more apparent after he finished his long-term stint on television. Now, after having his movie career take off so well (and having a production company of his own), I’m sure it would be a tad difficult to go back to being a regular on TV - where he would be, in reality, only a second fry to the other major characters on UB. And perhaps in that sense, it would tie back to what you’re saying, Sarah - that he probably didn’t like the direction the show would take with his character in the long run - that he would always be a second fiddle or that he’d be cast off eventually. Or, chances are, it has nothing to do with that at all. Maybe it’s just a scheduling conflict that came up for him, which affected any storyline that the writers had in mind for Gio and Betty.

  Honestly, though, I really never expected Freddy to be around for the long haul. I expected to see him more often during Season 3, but somehow, it makes sense to me that he would eventually leave. I just never had the feeling that he’d stay around for, say, four or five years - or even to the series finale, especially since this show operates more as a “soapish” comedy.

  bgfan says: “George Clooney did it for 6 years. Besides this actor doesn’t seem the type to see TV as ‘beneath him’. And there’s nothing like a steady paycheck.”

  **************************
  Yes, and when his “star” status really started taking off, he eventually left “ER” to take on more projects that were of more interest to him on the big screen. Before Freddy came to UB, he already had a movie career in motion, along with a production company of his own, right? So, like George, maybe that would be a reason that he could never commit to another long-term stint on the show to begin with. Now that he has his own projects in mind, it’s probably harder to take on anything else.

  In that sense, it may not be about Freddy seeing TV as being “beneath” him. As mentioned earlier, it could be that either (a) some scheduling conflict came up that took precedence over UB or (b) he didn’t want to stick around b/c Gio’s storyline on the show wasn’t palatable enough for him.

  And with that in mind, that’s something else that we could consider: Freddy agreed to be a recurring character as of Season 2. But perhaps TPTB had “backup” storyline ideas in place just in case they couldn’t get him to commit to Season 3. That really is a possibility, and sometimes, circumstances like that just can’t be helped.

  In any case, when I hear that people are planning to give up on this show because secondary characters like Henry and/or Gio are leaving, I actually think that’s pitiable for one reason: The show was always about Betty’s story to begin with - and as someone else mentioned, her story does go beyond whatever romantic interest she happens to have at the moment. The big picture is that this is all about her journey - and well, until that journey ends with the series finale, I’m sticking around.

• rc cola
  Jul 14, 2008 at 8:26 pm

  Turns out this Val Emmich guy is a musician too. If his acting is as hot as his music, Betty might be on to something. I recommend checking it out. http://www.myspace.com/valemmich

• Beatrice B
  Jul 15, 2008 at 2:23 pm

  Cola. Yes. His first and foremost a musician (his music sounds very good). In addition, he is a budding actor. He also mentions in his blog about his upcoming appearance in Ugly Betty and in another film (which he is very excited about).

• Yuly
  Aug 4, 2008 at 8:30 am

  As a Getty fan im also concerned about what’s going to happen with Gio and Betty, though I wasn’t aware of the personal reasons of actor Freddy Rdgz for leaving or not the show before reading this blog today, and regarding that indeed the show is truly about Bettys journey, I think a character like Gio is just about what Betty needs in a romantic relationship now; Henry is the classic nice guy and very very much alike Betty which is good, but he was never daring enough to challenge Betty like Gio did (motivate her to start writing or helping her overcome dramas like playing sports again)

  anyway, I think It would be a waste of time and of such a great character if they decided to take Gio out of the picture; and of course the show would be still good without him, but again it would be a waste, cuz im not really sure how long this program will last, hopefully for at least a couple of more years, and I do agree that Betty needs a steady love life at least; but we are in 3rd season already and lets not forget that at the end of this show Betty will end up with Daniel (as according to the original plotline of the latin Soap-opera) so Im guessing that the writers need to grow on a more powerful story this year than to be playing around with potentially “weak” on-and-off-characters (Perhaps Jesse?) and stories. They need to build up a hell of a good storyline this season, if we are ever to be prepared to slowly see Betty falling in love with Daniel and watch her makeover eventually…

• CC
  Aug 20, 2008 at 10:25 pm

  I liked Betty and Gio together, but I’m willing to go with the new character Jesse if it’s done right. I felt like they *really* rushed the Betty - Gio relationship at the end. I’m sure that was due to the writer’s strike, but regardless of the reason, it felt false. I’m convinced Betty went with the “neither of the above” choice . . . My hope is that Gio will be ticked off by her decision and that will be the cause of his disappearance - and then that they’ll bring him back late in the season, in preparation for season 4. I think he could be the one for Betty, but she needs to date a little more first.

  In the meantime, Jesse could be a fun distraction. But I have to agree, it stretches reality *too* much for her to have all these guys falling at her feet. For that matter, isn’t it contrary to much of the show’s message? Betty is a wonderful role model because she is so unabashedly herself - she has strong individuality. If the message of the show becomes “ugly girls can get boyfriends too” then I think it has lost touch with what was so special about it - with the real message it started out with in Season 1.

• Beatrice B
  Aug 21, 2008 at 3:51 pm

  CC said:
  “[...]My hope is that Gio will be ticked off by her decision and that will be the cause of his disappearance - and then that they’ll bring him back late in the season, in preparation for season 4. I think he could be the one for Betty, but she needs to date a little more first.
  In the meantime, Jesse could be a fun distraction. But I have to agree, it stretches reality *too* much for her to have all these guys falling at her feet [...]”

  - - -
  Hey CC somehow I like that idea. I said it before. I don´t mind Jesse being the “rebound guy”. He sings nicely and they say that Betty will focus in other things than her love life. Having fun is fun! :)
  Now later in season 3 they can bring romance if they like. But I don´t mind if Gio sticks around as a friend encouraging her to work in her writing or maybe pissing her off every now and then.

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